Topic: Student outcomes
Upcoming Event
November 19, 2026
Open Forum Research and Listening Session
At a meeting hosted by the Non-degree Credential Research Network, Joanna Dressel will speak with Kelvin Bentley from NASH and share recent Ithaka S+R research on microcredentials. Register to join the session, on November 19 at 1:00PM ET.
Blog Post
November 11, 2026
Supporting Veterans as Adult Learners
Why Proactive Navigation Is Essential
Millions of veterans entered military service with the hope of completing a college education, but have been unable to realize that goal. This disconnect is exacerbated by a range of challenges, including the fact that student veterans disproportionately attend institutions where they are less likely to graduate and, if they do graduate, are likely to see fewer economic benefits. Notably, many veterans receive the GI Bill, which helps pay for education. But it cannot ensure they choose a high-quality program…
Upcoming Event
March 16, 2027
From Silos to Ecosystems
Designing Education for Learners
This interactive workshop at SXSW EDU 2027 will explore practical approaches for designing learner-centered ecosystems across education, workforce, and community partners. Led by Elizabeth Looker and Tiffani Horton, participants will examine research on adult learner enrollment and persistence, worker perspectives, and cross-sector collaboration. Using findings from the research, participants will map the organizations, policies, and partnerships that shape learners’ experiences. Through guided activities, they will identify opportunities to reduce fragmentation and build more connected systems that improve learner success…
Blog Post
November 10, 2026
Keystone Comeback Launches, Helping Adult Learners Return to College Across Southwestern Pennsylvania
Thousands of adults across Southwestern Pennsylvania leave college before earning a credential. While many learners want to return, they face financial challenges, competing work and family responsibilities, and difficulty navigating institutional processes. Some also carry an outstanding balance at a school they previously attended, creating another barrier. The Keystone Comeback, a newly launched regional collaboration, will provide such students with the support they need to return to college and finish what they started.
Past Event
November 13, 2026
Lessons on Financing the Implementation and Expansion of Comprehensive Student Success Initiatives
A Playbook from Ithaka S+R (ASAP Replication Collaborative)
The next CUNY ASAP webinar in the Research Insights across the ASAP Replication Collaborative series will spotlight a new publication from Ithaka S+R, “Financing Sustainability and Scale: A Playbook for Funding the Implementation and Expansion of Student Success Initiatives.” This playbook explores how institutional and system leaders have developed financing strategies, engaged policymakers and stakeholders, leveraged evidence to build support, and transitioned from short-term investments to more durable funding models through a series of profiles of comprehensive student success…
Blog Post
November 9, 2026
Lessons on Financing the Implementation and Expansion of Comprehensive Student Success Initiatives
Learning from the Field
Over the past few decades, postsecondary institutions have increasingly adopted comprehensive student success interventions designed to address academic, financial, and personal barriers to student persistence and completion. The City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Academic Programs (CUNY ASAP) is a prominent student success model, replicated across several states, with a substantial body of evidence demonstrating positive outcomes on increasing retention, credit accumulation, graduation rates, and return on investment.
Playbook
November 9, 2026
Financing Sustainability and Scale
A Playbook for Funding the Implementation and Expansion of Student Success Initiatives
Comprehensive postsecondary student success initiatives that deliver meaningful improvements in persistence, credit accumulation, and completion require significant investment to implement, sustain, and scale. Holistic wraparound models such as the City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Academic Programs (CUNY ASAP) combine academic advising, financial assistance, career supports, and proactive student engagement to achieve these outcomes. While the model’s effectiveness has a strong body of evidence behind it, replicating these models at scale requires more than demonstrating effectiveness.
Upcoming Event
November 16, 2026
Expanding Access to Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) for Formerly Incarcerated Learners
Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is widely recognized as a powerful strategy for supporting adult learners by formally recognizing college-level learning acquired outside the classroom. By validating this learning, institutions can provide faster, more flexible, and more affordable pathways to a degree. Despite growing adoption, CPL remains unevenly implemented across higher education. Institutions struggle to scale CPL due to limited infrastructure, inconsistent transfer policies, and skepticism about non-classroom learning. These barriers are particularly pronounced for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners…
Past Event
October 1, 2026
90-Credit Bachelor’s Degrees
Jobs for the Future (JFF) is hosting the inaugural in-person convening of the ELEVATE Postsecondary Network. The network brings together a broad coalition of state-level leaders from success centers, departments of education, system offices, education agencies and associations, and key postsecondary institutions. At the annual in-person convening, network members participate in a national conversation and engage in peer learning and collaborative problem-solving across state and regional contexts. Ithaka S+R’s Ifeatu Oliobi and Elizabeth Pisacreta will co-lead an interactive breakout…
Past Event
October 16, 2026
Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Program Identification Framework
Jobs for the Future (JFF) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) are bringing institutional teams together to continue advancing the development of three-year bachelor’s degree programs across Ohio. At the convening, Ithaka S+R’s Ifeatu Oliobi and Ini Umosen will present on and lead an interactive session on its forthcoming Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Program Identification Framework, developed as part of its broader portfolio of work on Three-Year Bachelor’s Degrees.
Blog Post
October 6, 2026
Evaluating the Petrie Foundation’s Student Emergency Grant Fund at CUNY
There are growing concerns about the affordability of earning a college degree, yet most discussions focus on tuition and fees. While sticker prices, or published tuition and fees, have increased significantly over the past two decades, the amount students actually pay, known as net price, is lower today than it was 20 years ago. For many students, however, especially adult learners and those from low- and moderate-income backgrounds, college affordability is about more than just tuition and fees.
Research Report
October 6, 2026
Addressing College Affordability through Emergency Aid
A Study of the Petrie Foundation’s Student Emergency Grant Fund at CUNY
The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation’s (Petrie Foundation) Student Emergency Grant Fund provides participating New York City colleges and universities with money to disburse grants to students experiencing financial hardship to help cover non-tuition expenses. Among the participating institutions are 20 City University of New York (CUNY) campuses, each of which operates and administers the program locally.
Blog Post
September 10, 2026
Evaluating the Promise and Value of 90-Credit Bachelor’s Degrees
This blog post was last updated on October 27, 2026. Earning a bachelor’s degree is still one of the surest routes to economic mobility. But affordability concerns, changing student needs, and a shifting labor market are raising the pressure on states and colleges to demonstrate that a degree is really worth it. In response, an increasing number of states are authorizing bachelor’s degrees that require as few as 90 credits, rather than the 120 credits or more that most bachelor’s…
Past Event
September 17, 2026
Transfer Explorer Learning Network
Join the next installment of the Transfer Explorer Learning Network to learn how institutions are using Transfer Explorer to improve the transfer process, streamline campus workflows, and make information more accessible. On September 17 at 3:00 PM ET, guest speakers from participating institutions will share their experiences implementing and launching Transfer Explorer, including lessons learned and plans for incorporating the tool into their work. Ithaka S+R will also present the latest usage data and other relevant analytics. Attendees will…
Research Report
August 20, 2026
Beyond Access
Policy and Collaboration in Addressing Student Basic Needs Insecurity
Students’ ability to succeed in higher education is closely tied to their access to food, housing, technology, transportation, mental health, and other essential support. While a range of public benefits programs and institutional initiatives aim to address these basic needs, access to support is often shaped by a complex and fragmented policy environment. State and federal policy related to basic needs has a direct impact on the support students can access.
Blog Post
August 5, 2026
PanelPicker Is Open for SXSW EDU 2027
Vote for Sessions on Microcolleges, Learner Success, and AI Literacy
Each year, we look forward to bringing innovative projects and research to SXSW EDU 2026, where we connect, learn, and collaborate with an active and engaged community. This year, we’re proposing three sessions—a panel, a presentation, and an interactive workshop—that explore timely topics across higher education, from nontraditional colleges and learner-centered educational pathways to AI literacy.
Blog Post
July 15, 2026
Building the State Case for ASAP Replication
From Evidence to Action
The City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) model offers one of the most rigorously tested initiatives available, proven to double graduation rates at CUNY and replication sites across the country. With support from ECMC Foundation, Ithaka S+R has worked with the CUNY ASAP replication team over the past year to build a suite of resources that help states and systems explore the benefits of CUNY ASAP by identifying the model’s potential to address the state’s…
Blog Post
July 14, 2026
Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Part-Time Learners
Our new report, Part Time, Full Potential: Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Part-time Learners, supported by Arnold Ventures, examines who part-time learners are, the barriers they face, and where targeted research and reform could have the greatest impact on improving their outcomes. …
Research Report
July 14, 2026
Part Time, Full Potential
Strategies for Improving Outcomes for Part-Time Learners
Part-time students represent about one-quarter of all undergraduate students at four-year institutions and nearly two-thirds at two-year institutions, yet they complete credentials at roughly half the rate of their full-time peers. These gaps are driven primarily by constraints due to work schedules, caregiving obligations, and limited financial aid, rather than by student characteristics or motivation. Added to this, the systems meant to support postsecondary success are largely designed for students who can attend full time.
Blog Post
June 24, 2026
The Geography of Postsecondary Pursuit
Strengthening Enrollment, Support, and Workforce Outcomes for Rural Learners
About 60 million individuals—roughly 19 percent of the US population—live in rural areas. Rural students graduate high school at higher rates than the national average (90 percent, compared to 87 percent nationally), yet only 19 percent of them go on to obtain a postsecondary degree, below the national average of 33 percent. Fewer rural students enroll in college, and when they do, they are more likely to drop out before obtaining a credential. That’s why Ithaka S+R recently launched the…